Foreign Policy Focus

Saturday, July 22, 2017

After many months of relative peace in the Israel, a new artificial crisis outbursts after the decision of Jerusalem authorities to install metal detectors at the entrance of Temple Mount. The measures were set after two Israeli police officers were killed by armed Palestinians who entered the area. The metal detectors are aimed at offering highest security and preventing people to bring weapons used not for improving their concentration for praying, but for harming other people.

This is apparently the trigger the Palestinians - especially their 'authorities' - waited for preparing a so-called 'Day of Rage'. Pretending that there are special religious requirements against going through metal detectors - apparently nothing is said about carrying weapons for killing other people - they are ready to set up just another Hollywood-inspired political soap opera.

However, the increased safety measures are not uniquely used at the Temple Mount. Big religious sites around the world - especially Muslim ones - set up such systems to deter and prevent terrorist attacks. Given the usual high price of such a system - which starts from 12,000 and can easily reach around 73,000$, plus the usual maintenance, not all the religious sites are able to afford such an investment.

Here is a short overview of the main such measures at main religious sites around the world.

- Mecca

Around 4 million Muslims visit Mecca every year to perform the Islamic pilgrimage of Hajj, and more millions are going there throughout the year. In order to offer high-security to the pilgrims and avoid armed attacks - the last armed takeover took place in 1979 at the Grand Mosque, but another possible attack was foiled a couple of weeks ago, as since 2014 Saudi Arabia is under constant threat of attacks from ISIS - and over-crowding, over 800 cameras were installed only near the Grand Mosque in order to track the pilgrims. For years, there are discussions for the creation of sophisticated metal detectors, and the guards are prepared to intervene at any time to easy congestion and jostlings. The security forces deployed during this time of the year are impressive, with over 100,000 personnel available to intervene.

Plain-clothes officers are often mingling with the worshippers to stop them from carrying unauthorized foots into the mosque. The private cars are not allowed to enter the area. Pilgrims should also wear special bracelets provided with ID and medical details, allowing the tracking of every single individuals.

Although metal detectors are not provided at the entrance to Mecca and other holy sites, the pilgrims are going through systematic controls at the border and when going in and out of the airports.

In order to enter the Vatican Museum, visitors are going through metal detectors. Knives, umbrellas or weapons are not permitted. According to my own journalistic experience, when the Pope is visiting abroad, high-security measures are taken, especially given the repeated attacks to life of Paul II. Usually, the Pope travels in the bullet-proof Papamobile. The entry in the area near the pope for the usual gatherings is done after serious security checking, including metal detectors.

The largest mosque in the world according to capacity, Imam Reza Shrine was more than once the target of terrorist attacks. The security checking is done through two separate entrances - one for men and one of women. Big backpacks are not allowed, as well as cameras. The site is permanently surveilled by cameras.

- Hagia Sofia, Istanbul

The principal mosque of Istanbul for 500 years, Hagia Sofia, a former Byzantine cathedral allows access following the passage through complex security checkings, among which X-ray and metal detectors. Turkey, in general, set up a very strict control system of entrance to religious and institutional buildings, following the wave of Kurdish separatists attacks in the 1990s.

- Synagogues in Europe

Most of the big synagogues and Jewish institutions in Europe do use metal detectors systems in order to avoid terrorists attacks. The controls are aimed at preventing terrorism and protecting people who are visiting or praying from being the innocent targets of terrorists.

- Hindu Temples in Varanasi, India

Varanasi is the spiritual capital of Hindu, and the permanent threats and attacks on behalf of various Muslim denominations in the area lead to a severe increase of security. At Vishwanath Temple, for instance, the queues are permanently controlled by soldiers with riffles and the entrance is done through metal detectors.

- Christian Churches in America and elsewhere

More and more churches in America decided to increase the security measures after being under threat of terrorist attacks. Hiring guards and installing video surveillance cameras are the new realities of the religious institutions. After the deadly attacks in Egypt against Coptic churches, the authorities in Greece decided to introduce strict ID controls and surveillance near the religious sites belonging to this group. During the winter holiday season, several churches in Singapore introduced bag checks and patrols at the entrance.

Sunday, July 9, 2017

A literary account and a novelist point of view on the dramatic events at the end of 2010 and 2011 in Tunisia, Tahar Ben Jelloun's By Fire doesn't add new interpretations of the historical account. The two essays translated from French are aimed to multiply the memory of the so-called Jasmine Revolution, that started from the self-immolation act by the young unemployed graduate Mohamed Bouazizi.

Unable to cope on his own with the injustices and corruption in the country, Bouazizi, harassed by the police for the only fault of trying to honestly gain his existence selling fruits from a cart in the market, decided to end his life in a symbolic way. By putting himself on fire he wanted to send a desperate message to the public. He died of his wounds a couple of days later, and his act made history, as president Ben Ali left the country following the revolt that spread all over the country.

The death of Bouazizi, as well as the change of the corrupt president didn't change on the long term the situation of the country, but at least opened a window for hope. Of course, hope it is not enough to bring bread on the table but this might encourage change, both individual and at the society level. Bouazizi didn't have any hope any more hence his desperate act. Ben Jelloun recognizes that one single voice it is not enough: '(...) isolated voices can never bring down dictators; it took many incidents, clashes with the police, glaring injustices and intolerable acts for the spark to finally ignite'. The 'Arab Spring' was a hope not necessarily leading to dramatic changes, but literary minds and writers in general are always tempted to dream.

However, the short essays are realistically written, more focused to describe facts and events than to make comments and projections. It offers important historical background and information not only for the novel reader, but also for anyone interested to have a short but comprehensive understanding on the 'Jasmine Revolution'.

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Sunday, June 11, 2017

Manal al-Sharif is worldwide known for her bold decision to face the traditional anti-women approach of Saudi authorities of forbidding women to drive. But it is more than that, although, her stubborness turned her into a symbol of women self-awareness not only in her country, but in the entire Middle East and the world.

In her memoir, Daring to Drive, she tells her story, sharing her experience about growing up as a girl and being the target and victim of men's hate and opression. I was thinking twice before using this word, opression, but this is how the women situation in this country looks like: a slave that should silently follow the rules created by men.

Manal al-Sharif dares not only to drive, but also to challenge those absurdities, some of them not necessarily part of the religious teachings, but recent time inventions. An educated women, with a traditional background and her own history of religious observance, she is carefully observing the changes undergone by the Saudi Arabia while noticing the constant marginalization of women from the public sphere. From discrimination at school and at the market place to physical violence within the family, women are always the target and never properly protected by the law against abuses.

But in a inter-connected world as ours, it is hard to keep the situation without raising protests and inspire online social unrest. Manal did her part, and her achievements is an example for other women in the area to dare too, because cowards have all to lose. Her resilience and decision to go forward is an encouragement for women all over the world, but particularly in women-unfriendly countries like Saudi Arabia.

A recommended read to anyone interested in this part of the world, but also curious about women rights movements in the time of the Internet.

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Foreign Policy Focus Blog

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